Soon, the elevator opened on a dark path. Hayden remembered, vaguely, to have walked this passage, a long time ago. He followed it until he arrived at a platform overlooking the dark and greedy ocean that was the shadow. The circular room that contained it was immense. The lowest level of Cinaed was a maze of corridors which all led to this room.

 

Along the walls, the shadow swam up against the current and invested all the passages with a thin layer of its substance. Convicts and sacrificed were released in these passages where they ended absorbed by it. Only the platform where Hayden and Ciar stood on was spared by the shadow. As the only way to reach the Heart, it was isolated from the other passages and it was only accessible if Hayden wished so, unlike the other Aodhes who could only have access to the other entrances.

 

At the center of the room, majestic, the Heart of Cinaed was the only light source nearby. It was a huge circular tower which foundations plunged into the shadow and which branches clung on the ceiling. Its shape could evoke one of a neuron which core was the center of the City.

 

Hayden activated the platform so that it took them to the core. Along the way, he saw, at the corner of his eye, frail figures appearing at the mouth of the passages. He wondered if it was the shadow or the light of the Heart that kept them alive. He wanted to ask Ciar but they had already arrived at destination.

 

The core didn't need to be open for them to pass. They only had to pass through the immaterial membrane. Everything seemed to him foreign and familiar at once. At the center of the core, the Heart awaited them, eclipsing the contours of the room with its light. Curiously, if it could be unbearable for anyone, Hayden was able to see it and to bear its heat.

 

He just needed to come forward and turn off the Heart. He approached it and took it in his hands. The delicate tracery around it came off one by one when he removed it. As he proceeded, the light faded before passing away. But it didn't give way to the darkness so far. Hayden was surprised to still see despite the disappearance of the Heart.

 

-Finally.

 

Ciar voice broke the silence that had replaced the Heart palpitations. Hayden turned round and saw that the silhouette of Ciar was becoming uncertain. Despite this, she went to him.

 

-Cinaed, finally we meet again.

 

He looked at her, puzzled.

 

-Your memory isn't back yet?

 

Plunging his gaze in that of Ciar, Hayden realized that he knew. Since when, he didn't know. It was a fleeting and distant memory but it was always here. Cinaed... wasn't only the name of this city but also a being. His name.

 

-I see that you remember. How long was it since the Veil ?

-You are... but what about Ciar ?

-I am Ciar, I am everyone you have condemned down here. You were right Cinaed, nobody can survive me but they still live in me. You thought you accomplished a noble act when you imprisoned me but it was a mistake. We can't be separated.